Year-Round Program
What We Offer
Why SCCB
“I spent my whole career on stages around the world. What I came back for was to raise my family here. I’m not building it for a crowd. I’m building it for one child at a time, each one cared for like my own. That’s what makes it real.”
- Joseph Phillips
Artistic Director, Columbia Classical Ballet
Training That Lasts
SCCB is part of Columbia Classical Ballet’s non-profit mission to make high-level classical training available in Columbia. People say a school like this is built for the community. SCCB sees it the other way around: every child develops differently, and the teaching is built around seeing each one clearly.
SCCB’s training traces directly to the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, where the Russian classical method used by leading academies worldwide was codified by Agrippina Vaganova in the early twentieth century. The success of the Vaganova method: strength through dedication, artistry through musicality, and individuality through understanding. This gives each child something to be responsible for; the steps in front of them, how they show up. Discipline grows out of that. Love grows with it. Because loving ballet isn’t enough, a dancer learns to be responsible for what they love.
That’s a spirit nothing can break.
A Ballet School Inside A Working Company
SCCB students share more than a building with the professional company — they share the stage. From their earliest years, students have the chance to perform with Columbia Classical Ballet’s professional dancers in productions like The Nutcracker. It is the rare school where a child’s first class and a professional career happen under one roof.
For the first time, a child in Columbia can receive a full classical ballet education at home; beginning as young as three and, if they choose, training all the way through without ever leaving for another city.
Every Child Is The Community
People say a school like this is built for the community. We see it the other way around.
Every child develops differently, and the teaching is built around seeing each one clearly. A three-year-old who just wants to move belongs here as much as a teenager training for a career. No experience is needed to start; most of our youngest dancers have none. What they get from the first day is the attention of people who notice them.
Performances
Students are given the opportunity to perform 2-3 times a year in the school's productions: Fall Gala, Nutcracker and a Spring Show. Rehearsing and performing not only gives the students additional time to work on their technique, but also immerses them in the true nature of the art form, teaching them to pick up choreography, express themselves, interpret music with their bodies, and connect with an audience.
Class Schedule
2026-2027
Monday . Wednesday
3:45-4:30 PM
4:30-5:45 PM
5:45-6:30 PM
6:30-8:00 PM
Young Dancers (afternoon session)
Pre-Professional Technique
Contemporary Rep
Adult Beginner
Saturday
9:00-9:30 AM
9:45-10:45 AM
11:00-12:00 PM
12:00-1:30 PM
1:45-3:00 PM
3:30-4:30 PM
Pre-Ballet
Young Dancers (combined sessions)
Musical Theater
Pre-Professional Technique
Pointe Rep / Nutcracker Rehearsal
Boys & Men's Class
Tuesday . Thursday
3:45-4:15 PM
4:30-6:00 PM
6:00-6:45 PM
6:45-8:00 PM
Pre -Ballet
Pre-Professional Technique
Young Dancers (evening session)
Pointe Rep / Nutcracker Rehearsals
Sunday
3:00-4:30 PM
Adult Ballet Open
Friday
4:30-5:45 PM
5:45-6:45 PM
6:45-8:00 PM
Pre-Professional Technique
Musical Theater (1st & 3rd)
Tap (2nd & 4th)
Pointe Rep / Nutcracker Rehearsals
Faculty
From the Mariinsky Stage to American Ballet Theatre to San Francisco Ballet.
Train with the best!
Joy Alexander
Bonnie Spafford
Dr. Jennifer Amrol
Karina Zolotareva
Irene Liu
Sergei Zolotarev
Kiyomi Ramirez
Joseph Phillips
Tuition
SCCB tuition is paid monthly through the Parent Portal or can be paid annually with a 5% discount. A one-time registration fee and costume fee applies to each student.
Children & Teen Division
Pre-Ballet
(1 or 2 days/week)
Monthly Tuition: $85 / $135
Young Dancers
(3 days/week)
Monthly Tuition: $190
Pre-Professional
(Part time, 4 days/week)
(Full Time 6 days/week)
Monthly Tuition: $375
Monthly Tuition: $495
Boys Class
(1 day/week)
Monthly Tuition: $75
Musical Theater / Tap
(2 days/week)
Monthly Tuition: $90 / $60 w/ballet
Annual Registration Fee: $50 / $75 (pre-pro)
Performance Fee: $0 Costume Fee: $50
Adult Division
Single Class
Rate: $20
10- Class Pack
Rate: $170
Monthly Unlimited
Rate: $120
Adult students train alongside the school’s adult community, with opportunities to perform in Columbia Classical Ballet productions.
Open Classes
JOIN US, BEFORE OUR SEASON BEGINS!
August 10th-28th, 2026
Come take a class, meet the faculty, and explore our new location in the heart of Five Points!
Pre-Ballet
Ages 3-6
Tue & Thur
3:45-4:30pm
FREE
Sat
9:00-9:30am
FREE
Young Dancers
Ages 6-10
Mon & Wed
Tue & Thur
3:45-4:30pm
6:00-6:45pm
$10/class
(buy 1, get 1 FREE)
Sat
9:45-10:45am
FREE
Pre-Professional
Ages 10+
Mon, Wed, Fri
Tue & Thur
4:30-5:45pm
4:30-6:00pm
$15/class
$60 for entire week
Sat
12:00-1:30pm
FREE
Musical Theater
Ages 8+
Fri
5:45-6:45pm
$10/class
Sat
11:00am-12:00pm
FREE
Adult Ballet
Ages 14+
Mon & Wed
6:30-8:00pm
$20/class
(buy 1, get 1 FREE)
Sun
3:00-4:30pm
FREE
Boys & Men's Class
Ages 8+
Thur
7:15-8:00pm
FREE
Sat
2:30-3:30pm
FREE
FAQ
OFFICIAL OPENING SEPTEMBER 8TH
OPEN NUTCRACKER AUDITIONS AUGUST 15TH & SEPTEMBER 12TH - MORE INFO SOON!
PARENT PORTAL COMING SOON